Strut fairing bracket



Oct. 15, 1935. c. E. HAT-HORN 2,017,207

STRUT FAIRING BRACKET v Filed Feb. 15, 1953 INVENTOR.

ORNE Y.

Patented lon. 15, 193s marmi). STATES wi'rrzN-'rv ori-ICE STRUT FAmlNG BRACKET y Charles E. Hatliorn, Hempstead, N. Y., assignor to Curtiss Aeroplane & Motor Company, Inc., y a corporation of New York f v Applicaties February' 15, 193s, serial No. 656,928 11 claims. (ci. 24H1) My invention relates to aircraft construction and Vmore particularly to brackets for use in fairing the tubular struts extending between th diierent parts of an'airplane.

Previous types of brackets used for this purpose have not proven satisfactory either for the reason that the cost of manufacture of such devicesV from sheet metal stock has been prohibitive or due to the actual failure of structural parts of the bracket itself whenever attempts have been made to manufacture the brackets from any other material with any degree of economy. L

It is therefore an' object of the present invention to provide a strut fairing bracket which has l5 suicient rigidity and strength to supportl and maintain thelocation of the fairing with respect to the part of the airplane to which it is secured.

Anotherobject of the invention is toprovide such a bracket which is light in weight consistent with the requirements of aircraft construction and which is so constructed as to prevent the fairing from rotating about a tubular strutextending between dierent parts of the airplane.

A further object of the present invention resides in the provision of a strut fairing bracket constructed from' sheet metal material which lends support to the fairing material at diierent points throughout the length of the bracket and which may be manufactured and assembled simply and economically by the use of standard parts' which may be had at low cost.

With these and other objects in view, as willappear from reading the following specication, my invention consists of the novel features of S5 construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming parts'of this specification, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of my improved bracket 40. showing the same as clamped to a tubular strut in operative position with an outline of the fairing attached and also in'dotted hues as sprung apart for removing the bracket from the strut or for the purpose of assembling the parts.

Fig. 2 is a view in elevation of the bracket as shown in Fig. 1 partly cut away to show the construction of the bracket and the manner of clamping the same to the strut. s.

Fig. 3 shows a fragmentary view in elevation of a number of my improved brackets as'used for supporting the fairing for a tubular strut.

Fig. 4 is a detail view showing the combined manner of securing the ends ofthe bracket together and of fastening the trailing edge of the line 5-5 of Flg.4. V

it is conceivable that spot welding or other process Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken in the plane or Referring to the drawing, Figs. 1 to 3 show my improved bracket as applied to a structural part of an aircraft such as a tubular strut A extending 5 between diierent parts of an aircraft and exposed to the air stream, the streamline fairingjfor reducing the air resistance of the particular part of the air craft being indicated generally by the character B in all of the views. The tubular m strut A is of the type generally used in aircraft construction and may be a landing gear or wing bracing strut, or other supporting or bracing member of 'the aircraft.

'Ihe improved bracket per se comprises'v a l5 clamping ring il) adapted to be secured to the strut A or other part of an aircraft, and a fairing supporting member 30 secured thereto and to the fairing B in a manner to be hereinafter more fully described. The clamping ring lll may be a 20 stock part or may be stamped from sheet material such as steel or other metal, the lugs il thereof having aligned openings for receiving a. conventional fastening device such as the bolt 20 and nut 2l for clamping the ring securely to the 25 strut A. The metal comprising the edges of the lugs Il vis pressed out to form the anges I2, as best Vshown in Figs.` 1 and 2. which serve to strengthen the lugs Il and hold the same in position relative to the ends of the ring l0 so that 30 the fastening 20, 2| may be tightened suiflciently to prevent the possibility of the ring becoming displaced with respect tothe strut A.

The'fairing supporting member A30 is prefer- 3 ably formed of a continuous strip of sheet metal such as steel, and is substantially U-shaped ex# cept for the indentations 3| at opposite sides of the member at points where the same-is secured to the ring I, which are so shaped as to conform to the shape of the clamping ring. Since it is contemplated that both the ring l0 and the member 30 will be made from the same material, the members are shown permanentlyvjoined together as at 32 and 33 by'arc welding, although ofthewingllltoformthetir/ailingedgeofthem member when the ends are ,secured together in the manner described below. l

Figs. 3 to 5 of the drawing show in detail the manner of fastening the ends of the member Il u together and also ofsecuring the fairing B to the in the `usual case is light-weight sheet metal is bent Aaround the supporting member 30 .with sufficient tension to hold the leading edge land sides of the fairing in contact with points along the' sides of the member 30, and is rigidly secured to the member by the fastening device 4|, 42 which also serves to hold the ends 35 and 36 of the member 30 together, thereby giving the same the streamline shape required to support the fairing. In the modification shown in the drawing, studs 50 are shown secured to the member 30 at the point of contact ofthe leading edge ofthe fairing B, the function of which is to hold the forward lpart of the fairing While the same is being secured to the brackets. Such studs are not neces,- sary, but if used, ythe leading edge of the fairing should be provided with suitable openings spaced to correspond with the position of the brackets on the 'member A for the reception of the studs.

Fig. 1 also shows in dotted lines, the clamping ring VI0 and the fairing supporting member 30 with the fastenings removed and sprung apart in position for assembly or removing the bracket with respect to the strut A. `Since the opening in the clamping ring I0 corresponds in direction with the opening between the ends 35 and 36 of the member 30 when the fastening devices areremoved, the bracket may not only be readily ap-r plied to the strut A but-the permanent fastenf ing of the membersbyl welding becomes feasible resulting in a stronger andmore rigid structure.

" It is important to note that since the clamping ring l0 is strong enough to be clamped to the strut A so as to prevent any rotation or otherdisplacement of the ring relative to the strut,-

item used for other purposes,.the`member l3i! is44 simply a strip of sheet'A metal formedwithout waste from material used'in'the manufacture of other parts of the aircraft, and all of the fastening devices are standard fittings. No expensive process is used` in the manufacturing or assem-A bling of the parts so that a light-weight'bracket strong enough to withstand all Vstressesimposed upon it is obtained at a low cost ofinanufacturel which at the same time has many other advan` tages not to be found in previous types. It is thought that a full understanding of my invention will be apparent from the abovev description. However, I wish it to be understoodv that although the modification shown-represents an acceptable embodiment of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact details shown and described for the reason that other-modifications coming within the scope of the claims appended hereto will occur to persons skilled in the art.

U-shaped one-piece fairing supporting member having the rounded portion forming its leading edge and its free ends forming its trailing edge,

said member secured to said clamping ring at points -intermediate the leading and trailing edges of said member.

2. In a fairing bracket for use in aircraft cnstruction, a split clamping ring and 'a substantially, U-shaped one-piece member secured to the opposite sides thereof, the ends of said member extending to the rear of the sides ofthe ring approximately in the same direction as the -open.

ing in said clamping ring.

3. In a fairing bracket for use in aircraft construction, a split clamping ring and a substantially U-shaped one-piece member secured thereto, the open spreadable ends of said member extending beyond the sides of said clamping ring, theY opening in said clamping ring being between the ends of said member.

4. In a'fairing bracket for use in aircraft construction, a split clamping ring, a strap-like fairing supporting member secured to said clamping ring, said member having springablc ends, means for clamping said ring to a structural part of an aircraft, and separate means for securing the ends of the fairing supporting lmember together, both said means being removable so the bracket may be sprung apart for attachment to a struc- .tural part of an aircraft.-

5. In aircraft construction, apart of an aircraft exposed to the air flow, a streamline fairing having leading and trailing edges and adapted to reduce the air resistance of said part, a onepiece band-like member extending between the leadingA and trailing edges of said fairing, s aid member,l being so formedas,A to support both sides of 'saidffairing at points intermediatethe ends thereof, and means secured to opposite sides of said member for maintaining both said member and said fairing in alignment with respect to the air stream. A

6 A fairing bracket for use in aircraft construction in which a. continuous single band of sheet metal bent to the approximate shape of the streamline fairing to provide a support therefor is secured to the opposite sides of a clamping ring and to the leading and trailing edges of the fairing to prevent displacement thereof with respect to a part of an aircraft to which the clamping ringis attached.

7. In a fairing bracket for use in aircraft construction, a clamping ring, a one-piece fairing supporting member of a substantially U-shape, having the rounded portion forming its leading edge and its spreadable free ends forming its trailing edge, said member secured to said clamping ringvat points intermediate the said leading and trailing edges, and means for securing the fsaid free ends together.

8. In a fairing bracket for use in aircraft construction, a clamping ring, a one-piece bandlike supporting member having spreadable trailing edge ends, said member completely encircling and attached to said clamping ring, and means for securing the end's of said member together to give the same a substantially streamlined contour.

9. In a fairing bracket for use in aircraft construction, a streamlined fairing adapted to reducethe air resistance of a part of aircraft, a one-piece ,band-like supporting member having spreadable ends, means for, securing said member to the said part of an aircraft, and a means for simultaneously securing the ends of said member together and the said fairing to said member.

10. In aircraft, a one-piece streamlined fairing, a iairing supporting member having a similar streamlined shape with spreadable ends comprising its trailing edge, means for securing said member to a structural part of the aircraft,4 and means securing the ends of said member together ing edge and spreadable ends forming its trailing edge. a streamlined faking. means for secur- V ing said member to a structural part of the aircraft. and means secured the ends of said member together to give the same substantially a streamlined contour, the last said means also serving to hold the faxring in ncact with said supporting member at points intermediate its leading and trailing edges. and the rstsaid means comprising a clamping ring which may be l0 sprung apart for attachment to the structural part oi the aircraft to which the said iairing is secured.

CHARLES E. HA'I'HORN. 

